Q COSTARICA — The United States on Wednesday denounced the disappearance in Nicaragua of a doctor with dual Nicaraguan and Costa Rican nationality, for which it held co-presidents and husband and wife Daniel Ortega and Rosario Murillo responsible.
The “forced disappearance” of 30-year-old doctor, Yerri Estrada, had been reported to the Plenary of the Costa Rican Legislative Assembly last week by Priscilla Vindas, a legislator of the Frente Amplio Party (PFA).
“Three weeks ago, the Murillo-Ortega dictatorship arrested, brutally tortured, and ultimately disappeared Dr. Yerri Estrada, a dedicated doctor, after a morning spent providing medical services to a local community,” the U.S. State Department’s Bureau of Western Hemisphere Affairs reported on X.
“His ‘crime’? Defending freedom during peaceful civic demonstrations. Is Murillo so unsure of herself that she can’t provide evidence that he’s alive?” the legislator added.
Hace tres semanas la dictadura Murillo-Ortega arrestó, torturó brutalmente y finalmente hizo desaparecer al Dr. Yerri Estrada, un médico entregado, después de una mañana dedicada a proporcionar servicios médicos a una comunidad local. ¿Su “delito”? Defender la libertad durante… pic.twitter.com/sz136QOH6K
— Bureau of Western Hemisphere Affairs (@WHAAsstSecty) September 10, 2025
This case comes after the deaths of two imprisoned opposition figures in Nicaragua, which exiles and human rights defenders attributed to a new “repressive era” due to the early transition of power from an ailing Ortega to his wife.
In Nicaragua, the repression not only affects “the Nicaraguan people, but also citizens with Costa Rican nationality,” Vindas stated.
The Costa Rican Ministry of Foreign Affairs indicated that its consulate in Managua is in contact with the doctor’s mother and with Nicaraguan authorities, but did not disclose details, citing confidentiality reasons.
Ortega and Murillo are accused of maintaining a fierce persecution of the opposition following the 2018 protests, which Managua described as a US-sponsored coup attempt. The repression left more than 300 dead, according to the United Nations (UN).
Ortega, a 79-year-old former guerrilla who has been in power since 2007 and also governed Nicaragua in the 1980s, is accused by critics and humanitarian organizations of establishing a “family dictatorship” alongside Murillo, 74.
In recent months, Ortega has been seen at public events with difficulty walking and a pale complexion (he suffers from lupus and kidney failure).
Costa Rican-born Estrada was taken, as a child, by his family to Nicaragua to live, according to Nicaragua’s La Prensa, a newspaper founded in Managua in 1926, now operating in exile because of media crackdowns in Nicaragua.
During the sociopolitical crisis in 2018, the dictatorship detained at least two Costa Rican nationals, including journalist Lucía Pineda Ubau of the 100% Noticias channel.
Editor’s note: Many other Costa Rican nationals, myself included, aren’t allowed entry into Nicaragua. I’m still not sure exactly why I’m banned, but when I was questioned at the border in 2022, the conversation with the border immigration official focused on my connections to QCostarica.com and TodayNicaragua.com.
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